Up in the Air

by Rebecca Sharp

Loving Channing was my purpose and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.

  She moaned and snuggled back against me. I quickly bit into my cheek as her delicious ass brushed against my morning wood.

  “Wyatt?” I kissed her neck.

  “Good morning, sunshine.” My thumb brushed lazily over her nipple.

  She half-turned back against me. “What time is it?”

  “Time for the mountain.” That opened her eyes. “Well, almost time.” I leaned over and kissed her, enjoying the way she immediately melted into me.

  My hand trailed down over the soft skin of her stomach as my tongue teased hers.

  “Last night…” she murmured against me.

  “Was incredible.” I finished for her as I raised her leg and placed it back on top of mine. My fingers slid up to her core, slipping down over her folds.

  She moaned softly. “Don’t we have to go?”

  “Do you want me to stop?” I circled her clit, feeling more moisture seep from inside of her.

  “No,” she gasped. “Don’t stop.”

  I smiled and kissed her again, slipping two fingers inside of her to prepare her before I pulled them out and replaced them with my cock. This morning’s rhythm was nothing like the furious one of last night. This morning was slow and sweet.

  I imbibed each of her moans as I slid in and out of her. My fingers stayed on her clit, pleasuring her from both the inside and out. I felt her leg tense against me, her breathing halt, her muscles squeezing against my erection; one more thrust and she came around me, my body tightening and then firing inside of her.

  “Can you wake me every morning like this?” she whispered, her eyes still adorably shut as our bodies began to relax.

  “I plan on it,” I promised. Her sigh transformed into a smile. I drew in a breath, slipping myself out of her. “But now, it’s time for the mountain.”

  I laughed as she snuggled deeper into the covers. Feeling for her ass, I gave it a light tap before throwing the covers off of me and sliding out of the bed.

  “C’mon,” I said over my shoulder, grabbing a new pair of briefs from one of the drawers. “You’re going to land the triple today.”

  We’d been down the park once already. Every double that she’d pulled had been flawless and so I’d told her to go for the triple on the last one; she just missed the landing. I saw the hope diminish slightly in her eyes, but my girl was strong; I knew she wouldn’t give up.

  We made it back up to the top and she tried again. And again, she narrowly missed completing the last rotation and when she stood, I saw the anxiety and fear of defeat affecting not just her entire body, but her mind. So, I swung my board to a stop in front of her, my mitts grabbing the side of her helmet.

  “Breathe, Channing,” I said softly, my face inches from hers. Our helmets were pressed against one another. “I know you can do this.”

  “How?”

  “Because I’ve watched you. You have everything that you need to nail this.”

  “What if I fall again?” Her question was tortured.

  I could have told her that she’d get back up and try again. But that wasn’t what she needed to hear – she already knew that. She wasn’t asking about the fall, she was asking what I would think of her if she messed it up – if she failed again.

  And so, I said the only thing that I could, the only thing that I’d been thinking all morning, the only thing that I’d been holding inside for days – weeks, even. I said the only thing that mattered.

  “I will still love you, gorgeous, whether you land this or not.” Her eyes widened in disbelief. “I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”

  I pushed off, leaving my sentiment hanging heavy in the air. She’d been surprised that I’d said the words, not that I felt them. After how things had been between us the past few weeks, it was unspoken between us that this was where our relationship was at – that this was how we felt about one another.

  My hands flexed at my sides as I saw her start to move. She gained speed and then I lost sight for a second. Next thing I knew, I saw her fly up over the lip of the jump. And boy, she flew. I smiled, my hands coming together when she was still up in the air because I knew she’d done it; she’d executed perfectly, she was going to land it. Sure enough, a second later the distinct and definitive thud of the bottom of her board meeting the solid earth beneath it reverberated over the slope.

  I bent down and unstrapped from my board, tossing my helmet and goggles next to it and ran over to my girl who was screaming her lungs out. She slowed as she approached me and I caught her underneath her arms, spinning her – board and all – around as we both laughed. Bringing her back down, I unsnapped her helmet, baring her face to mine, and kissed her hard.

  “I’m so proud of you, gorgeous.” She smiled against my lips, laughing. I tasted the saltiness of her happy tears.

  “I… I love you.” My heart stopped. “I love you, Wyatt Olsen. Thank you for believing in me.”

  “Always, Channing.” I rained kisses over her face. “Always.” And then I kissed her again and again… until the whistles and hollers of the riders flying by us became too obnoxious to ignore.

  “We should probably head down.” I kissed her forehead, raising her helmet to put it back on her head. “You have lessons and I have to get to the airport to pick up my parents.”

  Channing

  Best. Effing. Day. Ever.

  I took another deep breath, trying to force myself to continue to believe it. I landed the triple because of Wyatt. But it was more than that. The trick was just a symbol of both everything that I’d worked towards and everything that I’d given up to get it; it was the impossible. And today, he showed me that the impossible was only possible with love – with letting someone inside a part of me that I’d convinced myself could remain empty forever.

  I’d always had the skills, but the something – the part of me – that had been holding me back was my heart – afraid that I was going to let Chance down again, let Wyatt down, let myself down. And he saw that; he saw my fear and he’d conquered it with love.

  I let out the millionth small squeal for the day, twirling in my room like the girliest-girl I knew – and I embraced her with every cell in my body; my heart so full I thought it might burst.

  And then Ally knocked on my door. Tucking my towel around me, I let her in. “Hey. Good thing you’re here, I will probably need to borrow something to wear tonight. You know, I’m surprised that you’re not going… you don’t look that ill.” I gave her a skeptical eye. Zack had invited her to the family dinner, too, but she’d refused, saying that she wasn’t feeling well after last night – but she looked fine to me. I almost turned to go back to getting dressed but stopped myself when I saw her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing…” She tried to smile. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  My brow furrowed. “Of course. What’s going on?” I sat on my bed, patting the spot next to me. “Does this have to do with Emmett?”

  She stopped in her tracks. “No.” Ally shook her head and then sat next to me. “No, it has to do with Wyatt.”

  “Oh.” My hands gripped into the towel, dread coming over me. “What about him?”

  “Have you talked to him about his plans after the Games?”

  Oh. I breathed out. “No. I mean not yet. Why?”

  “I… I don’t know the details, but I wanted to tell you before you were in too deep.” Too late. “Zack was talking the other night. H-he thinks that Wyatt is going to be opening a snowboarding school in Canada when the Games are over.”

  School. In Canada.

  “Wyatt hasn’t said anything to him, but he heard him on the phone with a Canadian company owned by a family friend of theirs talking about investing.”

  My head was swimming. I’d been on Cloud Nine… and now I was free-falling to ground zero. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to you?”

  “No.” I cleared my throat, trying to disguise h
ow my voice broke on the word and my heart broke on the reality.

  “I mean, Zack could have totally misheard or misunderstood.” She laughed nervously; we both knew it was unlikely. “I just wanted to tell you. I just wanted you to talk to him before things got too serious.”

  Before? I stared up at the ceiling. My little sister might not put much weight into being with guys and dating them, but I did because I never did it. And apparently, when I did, I gave it my all.

  “They haven’t gotten too serious, have they?”

  “No.” I shook my head, laughing so lightly compared to the lead sinking in my stomach. “Of course not. I mean... they could. For sure they could.” I stared blankly at the corner of the towel I was fingering before I raised my gaze to her concerned face. “Thanks for letting me know, Al. I’ll definitely talk to him about it and see what’s going on.”

  “Ok.” She gnawed on her cheek before wrapping me in a hug. “I’m sorry, Chan. I’m sure it will be fine. I just don’t want you to get hurt. And I don’t want you to move to Canada.”

  I laughed because I couldn’t cry. “I’m not moving to Canada, don’t worry about that.” Especially with Chance gone; I couldn’t leave her. Which meant that Wyatt would have to leave me. I put my arm around her shoulder, hugging her to me. “I’ll figure out what’s going on. I’m sure Zack misheard.” I wasn’t sure if I was telling her or trying to reassure myself.

  “Are you ok?” She whispered against my shoulder. I nodded against her head; I didn’t trust myself to speak. “I didn’t know if I should say anything.”

  “Yeah!” I exclaimed. “I’m completely fine. Now why don’t you find me something pretty but modest to wear to dinner tonight?” I stood and she followed suit, heading back to her closet leaving me and my heartbreak in suffering solitude.

  Why wouldn’t he tell me that he was leaving? Why would he do and say all this stuff? Why would he tell me that he loved me if he was just going to leave?

  I shook my head. It didn’t make sense. Zack had to be wrong.

  And that was what I repeated over and over again as I finished getting ready, as I walked out of the house, as I got in my car and drove over to his condo, and as I stood at his door with my heart in my throat wondering just how this night was going to play out.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” Wyatt immediately pulled me into his arms and up to his mouth for a kiss; the hours since he’d last kissed me felt like years. In the safety of his embrace, I prayed again that Zack was wrong. He pulled back, only then taking a good look at me, “You look beautiful.”

  His smile halted as the click of heels approached us. “Wyatt James Olsen, please stop hogging Miss Ryder all to yourself and introduce us!” Wyatt turned, revealing the woman who’d come up behind him – a woman whose face had the same chocolate eyes and the same smile as the man in front of me, although she could have been his sister, rather than his mother for how good she looked.

  “Channing!” she exclaimed and hugged me like I’d been a part of their family for years. “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. I’m Wyatt’s mom.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mrs.—err Dr. Olsen,” I fumbled. Great. Nice one, Channing.

  “Oh, no. You have to call me Mary. Please.” She pulled me further into the hallway and let Wyatt shut the door behind us, a pleased smile on his face.

  “Mary,” I said softly.

  She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and we began to walk towards the condo’s kitchen. “I want to know all about you – Wyatt hardly tells me anything. Oh—Dan,” she broke off as we made it to the kitchen where a sharply-dressed middle-aged man sat. Now, I knew where Wyatt got his fashion sense from. “Meet Channing. Channing, this is my husband – Wyatt’s dad – Dan.”

  “Hi, so nice to meet you.” I began to stick my hand out, but he too stepped down from the counter stool to wrap me into a hug. Just like my parents, I thought, remembering the first time Emmett had some over and met my mom and dad; they’d both hugged him and he’d looked like a deer in headlights – like no one had ever done that before.

  “Let’s go sit on the couches and talk. We have some time before we have to leave for dinner, right, dear?” She looked to Wyatt who nodded. “Wonderful. Now, why don’t you get us girls a glass of wine?”

  She linked her arm through mine and we made our way over to the couches in the living room.

  “How was your flight?” I asked, frantically searching for things to talk about with the mother of the man I’d fallen in love with.

  “Oh, pretty good. Long – at least for me. I don’t particularly like flying.”

  We sat. “How long was it?”

  “A little over four hours.” She laughed at herself. “So, I guess not really that long; I’m sure you and Wyatt wouldn’t be phased by it and it makes visiting out here very easy.”

  What did she mean that we ‘wouldn’t be phased by it’? That it would make it easy for us to visit here?

  Was he really expecting me to move to Canada? Without even asking me?

  The man in my thoughts appeared in front of us, handing both his mother and me each a glass of white wine.

  “Zack said he’ll be here in ten. I think he was just checking on Ally. And then we’ll get going.”

  I nodded.

  “So, Channing, Wyatt tells me you are an excellent snowboarder?” I blushed and took a sip of the wine that was a little too dry for my taste.

  “I don’t know about excellent,” I laughed.

  “Don’t let her be modest, mom!” Wyatt yelled from the kitchen. “She’s one of the best I’ve seen.”

  I groaned and took another sip. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with him, can I?”

  She gave me a knowing smile. “Wyatt has always been the child determined to get his way – to win – some might say.” She winked and I laughed, secretly wondering if his way was going to be to move me to Canada – away from my family, away from my friends. I gulped down the wine. “And somehow, it always manages to work out for the best. Especially with his new idea which he tells me was completely inspired by you.”

  My eyes widened in surprise, my mouth parting; I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Mom! Can I talk to you upstairs for a minute?” Wyatt interrupted again, his serious tone suggesting that Mary was about to tell me something that she wasn’t supposed to. I looked at him over my shoulder as his mom stood up next to me.

  “Of course.” She gave me a smile as they both moved upstairs.

  A minute later, just as Dan and I had started a conversation, the front door opened again and Zack walked through.

  “Hey!” I watched as he walked over and gave his dad a hug. “So glad you guys are here.” He turned to me. “Hey, Channing.”

  “Hey, how’s Ally?” Dumb question since I’d seen her less than an hour ago.

  “Ehh…” His face looked a little sad. “I think she’ll pull through; we had a little too much fun last night, it looks like.” He winked at me and I smiled, knowing the effects the alcohol had had on us as well. “Alright, where’s mom and Wyatt?”

  “Upstairs,” Dan replied.

  Zack looked at his watch. “Don’t we need to get to the restaurant? Aren’t our reservations in ten minutes?” I shrugged; I wasn’t sure. Wyatt had just told me what time to be at the condo. “Alright, I’ll go—“

  “No!” I stopped him. “Let me go grab them. You stay and talk to your dad.” The forcefulness of my tone was a tad too much but thankfully, it only caused him to pause before he nodded and started to talk to Dan about hockey.

  I swallowed and made for the stairs. Guilt pooled in my stomach. I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but I needed to know what was going on. I quietly climbed the carpeted staircase, hearing Mary and Wyatt’s voices getting louder. As I neared the top, I slowed, trying to make out what they were saying.

  “I’m sorry, Wyatt. I thought you told her already.” Mary’s soft voice floated down to me.

  “I wanted t
o make sure everything was in order first but it looks like that’s not going quite as I had planned.” He sounded frustrated. “I guess I’m just going to have to leave sooner than I thought.”

  Leave? He’s going to leave. Not us. Him.

  “I did my best.”

  He sighed loud enough for me to hear. “I know, mom, and I appreciate it. I figured it was something that couldn’t be done from so far, but I was hoping that I could at least get something definitive squared away before next weekend.”

  “I’m sure that it’s going to work out regardless. They seemed very excited about the idea and can’t wait to talk to you in person about it.” His mom asked. All I heard was ‘in person’ which meant in Canada. “Are you going to tell her?”

  Silence.

  “Of course. I was just trying not to put such a huge commitment on her shoulders this week with the Games coming and everything.”

  I think he continued talking, but the sound of my heart breaking drowned out the noise. I shook my head. Dinner. Just get through dinner, Channing.

  The last three steps I made sure to be extra loud so that they could hear me coming, ending their conversation as I appeared on the landing.

  “Zack is here.” Hopefully, the smile I forced to my face was convincing.

  “Oh, wonderful!” Mary exclaimed, pure joy lighting over her face as she put a hand on Wyatt’s arm before walking past me and down the stairs.

  I looked back to my boyfriend, my smile dimming slightly before I turned and followed her back down to the main floor. He’d looked like he wanted to say something – or maybe it was just my imagination. I heard him a few steps behind me as we joined the rest of his family.

  Mary Olsen embraced her other son, my eyes straying back to Wyatt who watched her intently – as though if he let her out of his sight, she was bound to let something slip that he didn’t want me to know. Like that because I’d told him I loved him, he expected me to move to another country with him.

  But nothing of the sort happened. Surprisingly, with another glass of wine, dinner went really well; if my heart hadn’t been breaking, it would have been the perfect ending to the perfect day – meeting the parents of the man that I loved, talking with them, laughing with them, feeling like a part of their family.